Keeping a Safe Kitchen
You need to know the whys and hows of food safety

SAFETY ISSUES TODAY
Why are food-related illnesses on the rise? According to Nicols Fox, author of Spoiled: Why Our Food is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It, the basic problem is that "we've changed our relationship with food. We've changed what we eat, where we get it, how we grow it, how we produce it, and our expectations from it. We want convenience foods, novelty, year-round availability, and cheap food. All of these things are driving the producers who are interested in efficiency and profit. When you apply these pressures to food production, you're setting up situations in which food can become contaminated or in which contamination can be spread in new and different ways."

The old model for food-borne disease was the church picnic. Everybody who went and ate the potato salad got sick. It was a contained, localized outbreak. Now outbreaks are widespread as a result of a variety of preparation and distribution practices:

• Processed foods that are widely distributed. For example, an ice cream mix may be spoiled because it was transported in tanker trucks that had hauled contaminated raw eggs, or some spoiled beef may contaminate a huge batch of ground meat.
• Food animals that are raised for specific qualities or functions, reducing their diversity and making large flocks more susceptible to disease. The conditions in which the animals are raised, shipped, and processed, which may be stressful or dirty, can also contribute to the development and spread of disease.
• The popularity of pre-prepared foods, such as those at salad bars. One food preparer with unwashed hands can potentially infect all who purchase the food.
• Fruits and vegetables imported from other countries where sanitation standards or practices may be less rigorous than in North America.

HOLIDAY SAFETY

From the book   Buy Now

Follow appropriate safety precautions, and don't let food-borne illness contaminate your holidays. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency issues Food Safety Facts for the Holidays and Turkey Facts for Food Safety, with this advice about holiday food safety:

• Turkey, the centerpiece of many a holiday meal, needs special treatment. When buying it, place it in its own plastic bag to avoid contaminating other foods, and put it in the refrigerator immediately when you get home. Place it on a plate big enough to catch any leaking juices. Buy fresh turkey just a day or two before cooking it. Defrost a frozen turkey in the refrigerator -- not on the counter -- allowing 24 hours for every five pounds of turkey. You can also defrost a turkey wrapped in leak-proof plastic in cold water, but you need to change the water every half-hour. Allow 30 minutes of defrosting per pound.
• Clean everything that touches the turkey and its juice thoroughly with hot, soapy water.
• The safest way to cook stuffing is on the stove or in the oven, not inside the turkey. If you do stuff the turkey, do it loosely and just before you put the bird in the oven. The center of the stuffing should reach 160°F on a meat thermometer.
• A meat thermometer is also the most reliable way to tell when the turkey is done. It should reach 185°F in the inner thigh and the juices should run clear.
• If you buy a hot, pre-cooked turkey, keep it at 140°F or above if you'll eat it within two hours. Otherwise, remove the stuffing, cut the turkey off the bone, and refrigerate everything separately, including any side dishes.
• When serving, don't leave the turkey unrefrigerated for more than two hours.
• Store stuffing in shallow containers so it gets cold quickly and completely. Stuffing in deep containers may not get cold in the center and, thus, bacteria may grow there.
• Use all leftovers, except for stuffing and gravy, within four days. Reheat leftovers at 160°F. Use stuffing and gravy within two days. Boil the gravy.

SMART MOVES
When in doubt about some aspect of food safety, contact the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. You can visit the website at www.cfia-acia.agr.ca.

SHELLFISH SAFETY

THE RIGHT WAY Test molluscan shellfish for freshness by holding the shell between your thumb and forefinger and pressing as though sliding the two parts of the shell across one another. If the shells move, the shellfish is not fresh. Throw away any that do not close tightly.

Health Canada advises that eating raw or partially cooked molluscan shellfish, such as oysters, clams, and mussels, carries a higher potential for causing illness than eating them thoroughly cooked. In healthy individuals, the illnesses that can result from consuming raw or partially cooked shellfish aren't life threatening, and commonly range from mild intestinal disorders to acute gastroenteritis. They are caused by bacteria and viruses present in water due to human pollution or natural causes, such as warm waters.

Some experts say individuals with compromised immune systems shouldn't eat raw or partially cooked molluscan shellfish at all. These people are susceptible to far more serious illnesses caused by naturally occurring marine bacteria or human pollution.

Here are some guidelines on how to avoid molluscan shellfish-related illnesses:

• Shopping. Buy from a store or market where shellfish is properly chilled. Mollusks in the shell should always be alive when you buy them. When a clam, oyster, mussel, or scallop is alive, the shell will be tightly closed or will close when it is tapped lightly or iced.
• Storing. Store live mollusks in the refrigerator in containers covered loosely with a clean, damp cloth. Do not store live shellfish in airtight containers or in water.
• Cooking. Use one or more pots to boil or steam shellfish. If you crowd them, the ones in the middle won't get thoroughly cooked. Discard any clams, mussels, or oysters that don't open during cooking. Closed shells may mean the shellfish haven't received adequate heat. When boiling molluscan shellfish, wait until shells open, then continue to boil three to five more minutes. When steaming, cook four to nine minutes from the start of steaming.

SAFE FREEZER STORAGE

Food in freezer	Maximum storage
Breads, rolls	6-8 months
Butter and margarine	9 months
Citrus fruits	4-6 months
Cut-up chicken (uncooked)	9 months
Frozen juice concentrate	12 months
Frozen vegetables	8-12 months
Fruits except citrus	8-12 months
Ice cream and sherbet	1 month
Lamb and beef roast (uncooked)	12 months
Pork and veal roast (uncooked)	8 months
Whole chickens and turkeys (uncooked)	12 months

You regularly check the temperature of your oven. How about your freezer? According to the Tupperware Corporation, a freezer temperature of 0°F for optimal long-term storage. The list to the right sets out Tupperware's recommended maximum storage times for a variety of home-frozen foods:

• Hall cautions that if your freezer temperature is above 0°F, or if you have a frost-free freezer where the temperature fluctuates, you may have to shorten these suggested maximum times to maintain high quality.
• There are a few simple keys to ensuring that your food survives its time in the freezer. Only freeze fresh foods of good quality and prepare them following the procedure recommended for that food type. Cool in the refrigerator before freezing to prevent raising the temperature in the freezer.
• Store in airtight freezer containers that are sized to allow for some expansion during the freezing process while minimizing air exposure. Label with the date when you put them in.